This invention relates to laryngoscopes having a handle and a removable laryngeal blade and light assembly. Laryngoscopes are used to examine the larynx; in the introduction and attachment of tracheal tubes in the trachea during intubation narcosis; and other life threatening situations.
Most laryngoscopes consists of a handle portion that contains a power source such as a battery or power cord, a laryngeal blade that will fold flat against the handle and also is completely detachable and a special interlocking mounting for pivotally attaching the laryngeal blade to the handle.
In recent years with the development of fiber optic laryngoscopes in addition to the older incandescent light types it has become important not to accidentally mount the blade of one type on the handle of the other since the construction of the light source of each is sufficiently different that blade assemblies of one type will not operate with handles of another type.
Since as mentioned above situations vital to life are often encountered industry standards have been established by the American Society for Testing and Materials for construction of the different types of laryngoscopes. Basically this standard has required wider bases and larger diameter pivot pins for the fiber optic type blade and handle assemblies than for the conventional incandescent light type blade assemblies. With laryngoscopes made according to this standard it is apparent a fiber optic blade assembly cannot be attached to an incandescent type handle and vice versa.
Prior art showing pivotally mounted blade assemblies includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,112 to Heine et al. which is a fiber optic type laryngoscope and U.S. Pat. No. 2,433,705 to H. L. Palmeter which is a typical incandescent bulb type blade assembly laryngoscope.